Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has given an update on the state utility Eskom’s performance, saying it was on track to achieve an energy availability factor (EAF) of 70% in 2025.
The EAF measures the performance of power stations and their maximum electricity generation.
Eskom noted that the country only had an average EAF of 70% for an entire week in July. This was the highest EAF since 2020. The EAF so far for this year has averaged 59.7%, up from 54.6% in the same week last year, according to the utility.
Last week, the EAF averaged 61% over the past week and 63.2% year-to-date.
On Monday, Ramokgopa said the current EAF is almost 64%.
Eskom’s major headache
Ramokgopa acknowledged that Eskom has suffered major setbacks in trying to extend the life of Koeberg's Unit 2.
The utility has also experienced major issues in its efforts to repair the Medupi coal power station.
This has jeopardised Eskom’s potential of having around 2,000MW of power for the national grid.
“Medupi is a big concern (due to the fact that) a number of units have gone out. It is a concern because it is one of our newest (stations) and we have invested a lot of money into it.
“We don't want to hide our shortcomings. The shortcomings are there, and we want to address them going forward,” he explained.
He also noted that Koeberg's Unit 2 station has not met Eskom’s targets and there is “slippage“. However, he did note that Eskom is addressing the issue at the power station.
Despite these setbacks, the minister is optimistic and said that these plants are now starting to work efficiently.
“We are on the right path. All matrices are pointing to positive performance, and we are far exceeding where we expected to be,” Ramokgopa noted.
He said that Eskom is now focusing on maintaining and improving its energy generation.
Over 200 days without load shedding
This past Saturday (October 12, 2024) marked 200 days without load shedding.
A significant milestone for South Africans who have been plagued by the electricity crisis.
This is the third-longest period without load shedding in recent memory, according to EskomSePush who broke down the periods were South Africa had “long bouts of uninterrupted energy connectivity”.
The longest period was between September 14, 2015, and June 13, 2018, when we had 1,003 days without load shedding.
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